Pickle Relish Recipes

Pickles and Relishes

The one thing I never have to go to the grocery store for is pickles, relishes and hot pepper sauce. They are always readily available in my pantry from the summer gardening season. There are many recipes I use that are simply fail proof. I enjoy them in salads, on burgers and as topping and condiments all year long. They are always a favorite around my dinner table. Hope you enjoy trying the ones shared on this page.

Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles

6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, unpeeled, I prefer to harvest my cucumbers while they are young and tender, they make the best pickles and are not too seedy.

2 cups thinly sliced onions

Pack into a large wide jar, alternating layers of cucumbers and onions until jar is full, pack each layer.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp tumeric

Bring to a boil sugar, salt, vinegar and spices. Remove from heat and pour over cucumbers and onions. Place lid on jar and let stand in refrigerator for at least 3 days before using. Store in refrigerator. Pickles will stay crisp in frig for over 3 months.

Sweet Lime Pickles

4 lbs. cucumbers, unpeeled and cut in thin slices. Soak in one gallon water mixed with one cup pickling lime. Soak for 12 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Stir several times. Remove from refrigerator and drain off lime water. Rinse at least three times in fresh water. Drain. Cover in ice water for 4 hours. Drain.

Bring to a boil:

1 quart vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 tsp mixed course pickling spice

Pour over drained pickles and let set in refrigerator overnight. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes. Pack in hot sterilized jars and seal. This recipe is easily doubled. Double lime soak mixture as well.

Pickled Squash

I use only small tender squash for this recipe. You may also use zucchini with your yellow squash mixing half and half.

8 cups squash, unpeeled, washed and thinly sliced

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp celery seed

2 tsp mustard seed

1 1/2 tsp tumeric

3 cups sugar

2 cups onions, thinly sliced

Slice squash and onion. Dissolve 1/3 cup salt in cold water, enough to cover squash and onion. Cover top with ice cubes and let stand for 3 hours. Drain well. Add remaining ingredients in large heavy saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves, add squash and onions and bring to a boil. Pack in sterile hot jars and seal.

Crisp Pickled Green Beans

This recipe is good and tastes like pickled okra without the slime. Great dill flavor with a little heat. Use young, small, fresh green beans.

2 1/2 lbs. tender green beans, washed and drained

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled

bunch of fresh dill

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Pack whole green beans upright in pint sized hot sterile jars. In each jar place a sprig of fresh dill and 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes. In a large heavy duty saucepan combine vinegar, water, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil. Ladle boiling brine over green beans, filling each jar to 1/4 inch from top. Place lids and rings on top and secure just fingertip tight. Place in hot water bath on canning rack and process for 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature. Any jars that do not seal may be placed in refrigerator. Let pickles set for at least 3 weeks before using. Serve cold.

Cinnamon Cucumber Rings

7 lbs. large cucumbers, peeled and seeds cored out, sliced in 1/2 inch rings.

For soaking cucumbers:

1 cup pickling lime

1 gallon water

2 tbsp alum

1 cup white vinegar

1 - 1 oz. bottle red food coloring

water

For syrup:

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups water

10 cups sugar

8 cinnamon sticks

1 10 oz. bag red hot cinnamon candy

Soak prepared cucumber rings in one cup lime mixed with one gallon water for 24 hours in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator, drain and rinse 3 times, well. Place rings in ice water and soak 3 hours. Drain.

Mix alum, white vinegar and food coloring with enough water to cover cucumbers and simmer for on low heat for 2 hours. Drain off all liquid. In large saucepan add apple cider vinegar, 10 cups sugar, cinnamon sticks and cinnamon candy. Bring to a boil. Pour over cucumbers and let stand in refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove rings from syrup and pack into hot sterilized jars. Place cinnamon sticks in jars as well. Bring syrup to a boil and pour over rings and seal.

Granny's Old Fashioned Chow Chow

2 quarts green tomatoes

1 pint onions

5 green bell peppers

2 red bell peppers

1 medium head cabbage

1 cup kosher salt

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups brown sugar

2 -3 hot peppers

4 tsp whole cloves

2 1/2 tsp celery seed

2 1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp allspice

5 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp tumeric

Chop all vegetables, sprinkle with salt and let stand overnight. Rinse and drain. Cook vinegar, sugar and place whole spices except for hot peppers in cheesecloth bag and add. Simmer 10 minutes. Add vegetable mixture and heat to boiling point. Remove spice bag and add mustard, tumeric and hot peppers. Stir until blended. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal at once.

Brined Dill Pickles

about 10 lbs. small cucumbers or pickling cucumbers approximately 4 - 6 inches in length, small enough to leave whole

3/4 cup mixed course pickling spice

3 - 4 bunches fresh dill

1 1/2 cups pickling salt

2 cups white vinegar

2 gallons water

6 whole cloves garlic + extra garlic cloves to pack in jars

Wash cucumbers well, making sure to remove all sand, drain. You will need a large clean pickling container sch as a crock or stone container or large glass container. Place one half of pickling spice and one layer of fresh dill and half of garlic cloves in bottom of container. Place cucumbers on top and fill to top leaving about 4 inches at top of container. To the two gallons of water, add vinegar and salt, stir well so that salt can begin to dissolve in vinegar water. Pour mixture over pickles, place the other half of pickling spices, garlic and dill on top of pickles. You will need an undersized lid to cover pickles and you will need a weight on top to make sure pickles stay submerged in brine. A good solution is a couple mason jars filled with water and sealed, placed on top of lid. Place in a cool and dark place for about 2 weeks. Pickles should be well flavored with spices and dill and brine should be clear. At this point you will remove your pickles from brine solution. Drain your brine solution and place in a large heavy duty saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. While solution comes to a boil, pack pickles into hot sterile quart jars, place a fresh clove of garlic and 1/4 tsp mustard seed in each jar. Pour hot brine solution over pickles leaving about 1/4 inch at top of jar. Make sure seal is clean and place hot lid and ring to seal.

Hot Pepper Sauce

In the South, we top our favorite plate of fresh cooked vegetables with a splash! Especially peas and okra.

Use any of your favorite peppers. Hot or mild. Banana, Jalapeno or whatever is in your garden. Wash well and snip off stems. Cut up or leave whole, if small. Pack in your favorite bottle. I love to use the bottles with the snap lock seal, like is found on Grolsch Beer or the new lemonade bottles that can be resealed. Or you can use canning jars and seals. Clean and sterilize. Pack with your favorite peppers. Add a couple teaspoons of red pepper flakes if desired, especially for mild peppers. In medium saucepan bring to a boil enough apple cider vinegar or white vinegar if preferred, to cover peppers. Pour boiling vinegar over peppers and seal.